WHEREAS since 1989, the people of India’s Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) state have been carrying out their peaceful freedom struggle, to get their right to self- determination, on 5 August 2019, the RSS motivated, Modi-led, BJP government in India crossed all the legal/HR violation limits in the IIOJ&K and passed an illegal amendment to the Indian Constitution in the Indian parliament, where the autonomy of the IIOJ&K and its UNSC recognized disputed status was ended by repealing Articles 35 and 370 of the Indian Constitution and dividing the state into two union territories. This was done in utter violation of the UNSC resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir State, passed in 1948/49.
And, to preempt Kashmiris’ reaction to its 5 August 2019 illegal cruel actions, while India had increased its security forces number from previous 700,000 (being used since 1989 to crush the freedom struggle) to above 1100,000, it had also clamped lockdown/curfew in the Kashmir Valley and also blocked the internet services in IIOJ&K. India had also apprehended/jailed all the Kashmiri leaders/youth and the Indian forces are busy in enforcing such measures time and again and are still carrying out genocide in the Kashmir Valley.
In August 2019, Pakistan, being a party to the J&K dispute recognized by the UNSC vide its resolutions of 1948/49, had condemned the BJP government’s actions of finishing the autonomy of the IIOJ&K state and dividing the state into two union territories as a blatant violation of the UNSC resolutions, in which it had decided that the settlement of the accession of J&K state to Pakistan or India, will be made by seeking the will of the people of J&K state through a UNSC supervised plebiscite, whether they wanted to join Pakistan or India. Pakistan had also taken up the case of India’s 5 August 2019 actions about the unilateral change in the status of the disputed state of IIOJ&K at the UNSC, where the UNSC had discussed the case in detail.
In view of the above, every year, 5 August is observed as a Black Day by the people of the J&K state on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and the world over, wherever they are working/living, to condemn/highlight India’s illegal actions of 5 August 2019 and the genocide being committed by the Indian security forces in the IIOJ&K. Being a party to the J&K dispute, the Pakistani people also join their J&K state brethren to condemn and observe 5 August as a Black Day. And, to highlight Pakistan’s resolve to continue to provide them its moral, political and diplomatic support till they get their right to self determination.
This year also 5 August has been observed as the Black Day by the people of the IIOJ&K and AJ&K and the people of Pakistan by organizing the protest rallies/marches and seminars/discussions, to invite the world focus towards India’s consistent and severe violations of their human rights (HR) being committed in the IIOJ&K since 1989 to crush the freedom struggle and to highlight India’s illegal actions of 5 August 2019 and its continuing genocide in the state being committed by the Indian security forces, especially in the Kashmir valley.
In the light of the above discussion and India’s continuing genocide in the IIOJ&K, to pressure India to end its HR violations there and restore its pre-5 August 2019 status, as an autonomous, disputed state, following political and diplomatic strategy is suggested. At political and diplomatic levels, Pakistan should consistently highlight Indian forces’ HR violations and genocide in the IIOJ&K, India’s illegal actions of 5 August 2019 and that the ongoing peaceful freedom struggle of the people of the IIOJ&K is legitimate as per the UN Charter and the UNSC resolutions, to attract the world focus on these points.
Pakistan should use its active and consistent diplomatic efforts to convince the permanent members of the UNSC, Germany and Japan that they should influence India to reverse its 5 August illegal actions on the IIOJ&K being in violation of the UNSC resolutions on the disputed J&K state, end its HR violations/genocide in IIOJ&K and they should also ask India to resolve the J&K dispute in the light of the UNSC resolutions by holding a result oriented dialogue with Pakistan.
Pakistan should further consolidate its relations with the major Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia and further solidify their support on the Kashmir dispute and that they should use their relations with India to influence it to reverse its 5 August 2019 illegal actions on IIOJ&K, end its genocide and HR violations there and start a dialogue process with Pakistan to resolve the J&K dispute in the light of the UNSC resolutions and India’s earlier bilateral commitments with Pakistan.
Pakistan should make efforts through China to move a resolution in the UNSC requesting it to ask India to end its HR violations in the IIOJ&K, not to change IIOJ&K’s demography, reverse its 5 August 2019 steps on the IIOJK and hold a dialogue process with Pakistan to resolve the J&K dispute in the light of the UNSC resolutions. Before doing that, while Pakistan may like to consult China, it should also convince the other four permanent members of the UNSC to win their support for such a resolution.
Till the time J&K dispute is resolved, Pakistan should continue its efforts to block India from becoming a permanent veto or non veto member of the UNSC by holding continuous consultations with China and with other veto powers and also by convincing the UNGA member countries for not voting for India on this account by citing the Indian violations of the UNSC resolutions on J&K dispute and its HR violations/genocide being committed in the IIOJ&K.
—The writer is also a former Research Fellow of IPRI and Senior Research Fellow of SVI Islamabad.
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